McGillvary ready to grab glory for his Giants team-mates

Huddersfield winger Jermaine McGillvary is very proud to have been named in the 2015 Super League Dream Team, but it is collective glory which interests him more than individual honours.

The winger, who has registered 27 Super League tries so far this season to top the scoring charts, wants to help some of his more senior team-mates at the John Smith’s Sstadium collect the tangible honours that their fine careers deserve.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved so far this season,” he told Love Rugby League.

“If you had asked me at the start of the season, ‘What do you think about potentially making England? What do you think about potentially making the dream team?’, then I’d have told you to shut up!

“And then probably turned my back and walked away!

“But as the season has gone one, I’ve got more confidence in myself from week to week.

“Obviously, that’s on a personal note, though. It doesn’t end here.

“I’d happily sacrifice all of this I’ve got here now, just to have the chance to win a Grand Final.

“That’s my main aim: I just want to win something.”

One team-mate in particular has shown to McGillvary just how important it is to take chances for success when they are presented to you.

“I talk a lot to Luke Robinson, and you can see it in his face all the time,” he added.

“He says that you don’t get many opportunities to play in these sort of games.

“I think Luke played in one Grand Final and he lost it, and because that Wigan team he played in back then was so young, they always said to each other that we’ll get there next year, or the year after, because they were young.

“That happened when he was 21. Now he’s saying that he’s 30, 31 years old and he still hasn’t played in a Grand Final.

“You don’t know when these games are going to come.

“I see the desperation on his face when I talk to him, he’s so passionate about it.

“I can’t let this slip. I can’t say ‘Oh it’ll happen next year,’ because it might not.

“I want to win one for not only myself, but for Luke, and Eorl and Broughy, who have been around the game for a long time, and are good players, but have never been to a Grand Final.”

McGillvary’s personal displays this season have been of a very high standard, and a marked improvement on the winger’s last few campaigns.

The reason for the improvement is clear, according to the 27-year-old.

“It’s psychology,” he explained.

“I used to be a big worrier. So if I made a mistake on the field, I’d be saying to mayself, ‘Oh no! What are my team-mates thinking of me? What are the fans thinking of me?’

“So I’d think, ‘I better not try this in case I make a mistake.’

“This season I thought to myself about my first ever season, and how I didn’t care about anything.

“Then, if I made a mistake, I was determined to get the ball again to make up for my mistake.

“That was my best season. I got Young Player of the Year and Top Tryscorer for the Giants.

“The second season went a bit wrong for me. People didnn’t know who I was in my first year, but by then they’d found me out, and they knew what my weaknesses were.

“This year, I spent a lot of time on my own in the off-season. I thought that I am going to get to the next level, I’m tired of not being in the frame for England, or being one of Super League’s best wingers.

“I was thinking about what was stopping me. I made a conscious effort this year that, no matter what happens, whether I’ve had an outstanding game or a rubbish, that it’s last week’s game and we’ll go again in the future.

“So this year, when I haven’t done so well, people haven’t said, ‘Oh he’s had a bad game,’ they’ve said, ‘he’s been a bit quiet.’

“Which is good, and shows I’ve been consistent.

“If you’re not confident in yourself, why should other people be confident in you?”

The Giants head over to Wigan on Thursday night for the first of the play-off semi-finals. The Warriors have not been beaten at the DW Stadium this season.

McGillvary has no illusions about how tough the test will be for the Giants, but is also confident that they can do well.

“Wigan aren’t going to have that record for the rest of their lives,” he said.

“They’re not going to have it forever, and we’ve done well at Wigan in our recent history.

“We’ve played them twice already this year and narrowly lost, but we can do it.

“I belive in myself, I belive in my team-mates. We’re capable of doing it, we just need to believe it and be smart for 80 minutes.

“What we do is shoot ourselves in the foot. We do well in these big games, and then we’ll do something so stupid, for no reason.

“Maybe it’s pressure, but we’re all seasoned pros now, we can’t let this pressure get to us.

“Hopefully we’ll come out the other end. But it’s going to be tough. I’m under no illusions.”

Meanwhile, despite the other code’s World Cup taking place at the moment, with all the attendant hype and media coverage, McGillvary has little interest in rugby union.

Certainly, he does not see a day when he will ever be tempted by the 15-man game, however much money they are willing to pay.

“I’d rather watch paint dry!” he said.

“It’s good money, but I’m not about that. I’m about good, tough sport, and that game’s not for me.”